Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
Rewards
Many churches scale down their activities for the summer except for one very important ministry--vacation Bible school. More than likely your church hosted or will soon host a VBS ministry this summer. VBS is an exciting time to see God work in the lives of children and their families. VBS is also a time to enjoy the experience of God's work in your own life. I am always impressed with the level of commitment of those who serve at VBS. They work hard and put in extremely long hours. My children always help at VBS, and this year my two boys ages 18 and 16 were able to help most nights. I praise God for their service to the King and told them: "God will reward you." God rewards us for our service to him. Jesus told us not to seek earthly treasure but to seek eternal rewards in heaven (read Matthew chapters 5, 6, & 7). Unfortunately, the concept of rewards has been lost in modern day evangelicalism. For some reason many evangelical Christians serve God mainly out of obligation or a sense of duty. But this kind of service is not always the best motive. In fact some people serve others out of guilt and a desire to atone for past sins. I do believe that it is psychologically and emotionally healthy to show remorse and try to right the wrongs of the past, but we should not try to earn favor with God by doing good deeds. On the other hand, if we serve him out of love and a desire to help others, God does reward us and this service is good. The difference between the two types of motivation is that one is from a heart that seeks to please self, and the other is from a heart that seeks to please God. The first motive is pseudo-altruistic because it is done for the purpose of feeling good about ourselves. The second motive is real altruism because it is done for no other reason than to help another person. Some people serve God because they believe that they are earning favor and adding value to their soteriological righteousness. The reward that these people seek is the salvation of their souls. In contrast to this kind of reward, the Bible teaches that God rewards us with increased privileges in heaven. God's rewards do not add anything to our righteous standing before him, but they do add to our status among the rest of the redeemed. God will elevate those who served him faithfully from a pure heart to privileged positions in his heavenly kingdom. Therefore, we should all continue to work hard to earn the rewards that God is waiting to bestow upon us. Thankful for the privilege to serve the King of kings, Pastor Steve
Find more afterthoughts at Mas Pensamientos
(more afterthoughts)
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